MEQUON, Wis. — After roughly 50 years behind the microphone, Milwaukee radio pioneer Bob Reitman is reflecting on a broadcasting career that has connected generations of listeners and inspired future broadcasters.
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Reitman this week celebrated the release of his second spoken-word poetry album, “12th House,” before a large crowd at Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater.
Proceeds from the event and album sales will help fund a high school radio camp through WUWM that bears his name, extending his influence to aspiring young broadcasters.
“It means the world to me. It really does. Kids out there will have a chance to share their voice,” Reitman said.
Reitman is best known as the former co-host of WKTI’s “Reitman and Mueller” morning show, a program that helped make him one of Milwaukee radio’s most recognizable voices. His career began at WUWM, Milwaukee’s NPR station, where he hosted a show built around listener contributions.
“People would send in poetry, and we’d read it on the air,” Reitman said.
As television and other forms of media have grown, Reitman said radio has continued to endure because of its unique relationship with listeners.
“Television’s dominated, but radio’s doing fine,” Reitman said. “You can take it with you in the car, so it’s a real personal type of medium.”
Among those honoring Reitman’s legacy is Traci Montgomery, who grew up listening to him on the radio and later became his friend through her work at StoryPoint in Mequon, where he now lives.
“He was a part of my family growing up,” Montgomery said. “You need people like that. He’s a teacher in his own right, even though he’s not a teacher. He doesn’t even realize it, how he pours into other people’s lives."
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